Rukia and the Masked Dancer
by Zendaflame
Summary: Rukia Kuchiki had never really been much of a dancer. In fact, she hardly ever danced at all. So when her best friends, invite her to the opening of a new dance club, she finds herself rather shocked, and finds more then she ever hoped for.ICHIRUKI!Ulkhim
1. Chapter 1: The Invite

Rated: K+ - T (Only for language really)

Summary-ish: Rukia Kuchiki is invited to go to the opening of a mysterious club, but will she find more there then she barganed for? : )

Rukia Kuchiki had never really been much of a dancer. In fact, she hardly ever danced at all. So when her best friends, Inoue Orihime and Hinamori Momo, had invited her to the opening of a new dance club, she found herself rather shocked.

"Excuse me?" Rukia said, not completely believing she had heard them right. She gazed up into the bright face of the long, orange-haired Orihime.

"Yeah! It's a dance club that juuuuuuust opened!!" the ever-enthusiastic Orihime chirped, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Come on, Rukia! It'll be a lot of fun!"

_Fun. Yeah, right._

Rukia grumbled something incoherent, and looked away. This was the last thing she needed to be thinking about right now! Honestly…she had finals to tend to, and school work to do, not to mention her job…

"Pleeeeeease!" Orihime's loud voice cut through her train of though.

Rukia just glared up at the orange haired girl.

"Rukia," Momo said in such a sad voice that it caused Rukia to glance over towards her.

"You remember Matusmoto Rangiku? From three years ago? The dancer? Yeah, this is her place! She opened a dancing club just like she always wanted to…" Momo said the happiness returning in her voice.

"Besides," Orihime cut in, "I've got three tickets! And one of them has YOUR name on it!"

Rukia let out a deep sigh.

"Thank you very much, but I can't. I have to work and study for finals. Besides, my brother would flip if my grades declined even a little…"

"Oh Rukia!" the red-headed girl rolled her eyes, "Come on! Live a little! Ever since Kaien-kun moved away you've been so…_depressing_!"

_Kaien-dono_…

This was the one person Rukia did NOT want to think about at this time. Kaien and Rukia had been dating for three years, when he graduated and went out of state. There at his college he had met another girl and within the year he had gotten married. It still hurt to think about him…

And yet, somehow she didn't want to forget him. The pain that he caused her reminded her of all the good times they had shared, all of the love…so she really didn't want to 'move on' like the rest of her friends wanted her to. So instead, she had gotten herself a part-time job and had doubled up on her classes, just to keep herself busy. But THIS was the last straw. No. NO. She would NOT go! She couldn't…

And yet…

"I'll…I'll see, Orihime." Rukia sighed "Don't get your ho-MMMPH!"

Orihime suddenly was giving her a tight embrace, glomped by boobage, and Rukia could hardly breathe.

"Oh Rukia-chan! I _promise_ you'll have fun; maybe meet a nice guy!! I'll come by your house at eight pm on Saturday, and tomorrow we'll go dress shopping for you! I've already got the perfect one in mind!"

Orihime let go of the dazed Rukia then bounced off to class with Momo in toe, leaving a very confused and now very regretful Rukia to finish lunch and head back to her own classroom.

Ichigo grunted to himself

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Neh? What's with that face, Ichigo?" Came the hard voice from a particular spiky red-haired man.

"Go away, Renji." Ichigo glowered at the tattooed-teen.

"Heh, you're just mad because you don't have a girlfriend!" Renji smirked at Ichigo with the cocky smile that made Ichigo want to hit him.

"What do you _want_?!" Ichigo growled.

"Ouh? And here I was going to invite you to the new dancin' place down the street, but now I'm not so sure."

Another smirk. Ichigo was starting to become very irritated. _Stupid Renji…the only thing that could POSSIBLEY make this worse is-_

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCHHHHHHHIIIIIIIGGGGGGGOOOOOOO!!"

_Oh god help me._

The LAST person Ichigo wanted to see right now,

"Hi Kiego!" Renji said cheerfully.

_Great, now there's TWO perverts I have to deal with…_ Ichigo thought bitterly.

"Oy Ichigo! Wanna go to the new dance place and score some chicks?" Kiego basically yelled in that obnoxious voice.

"He already said no to me." Renji stated.

"Awwww, Iiiiiichigo!" Kiego whined and flailed, "You'll never get a girlfriend with that attitude!"

"He's probably never even had one." Renji added.

"Have too…" Said Ichigo, who was going slightly pink in the face.

"Oh yeah? Who?" Renji countered, smirking.

"…" Ichigo looked away.

"I didn't think you'd had a girlfriend Ichigo." Said Kiego.

"Poor guy's probably never gotten laid in his life, either." Renji said to Kiego in a matter-of-fact way.

That was the last straw.

"WOULD YOU GUYS SHUT UP?!" Ichigo exploded, causing Renji and Kiego to jump backwards.

"Ouh? What are you gonna do about it? Eeeeh?" Renji sneered, "Prove me wrong Ichigo.'

It wasn't a question.

"FINE!! If I go, will you two leave me alone?!"

Renji mockingly raised his right hand pretended to take a silent oath. Ichigo gave him a hard push and knocked him off balance.

Renji just laughed at his friend, which didn't make Ichigo feel any better.

"It's a done deal then! Don't be late on Saturday!" Renji grinned.

"Ooooy! We'll come by your house at 8pm on Saturday! Get dressed up all nice, kay?" Kiego chimed in.

"Fine, whatever." Ichigo glowered over his bento and looked away. Renji and Kiego high-fived and ran off before Ichigo could change his mind.

_Well, it's one night of humiliation._ Ichigo thought bitterly,_ I mean, it's not like it's going to be life changing or anything like that…_

With that, Ichigo returned to his lunch, and with the same pouting face he always wore, he began to eat it.

--

The rest of the day was interesting for Rukia. It was strange, it was almost as if she was looking forward to the torture she was about to subject herself to.

_Strange…there must be something wrong with me._ She thought gloomily, and looked out the window of the class room.

_Calculus is waaay to easy._ She thought, sitting in her small desk. It defiantly wasn't enough to keep her mind off of the upcoming 'date with destiny'. Her only problem now was trying to figure out how to tell Byakuya-nii-sama…and that was a terrifying thought all on its own. What should she tell him? He would surely flip if she told him she was going to a dance. Being a Kuchiki, he forbade that kind of thing, mostly because Rukia was adopted into this wealthy family from a young age, and didn't want to 'spoil the good name of Kuchiki' as nii-sama had said. Although she could always just talk to her sister, Hisana, _she'd _understand! But she was out of town…so then what should she tell Byakuya-nii-sama?

Then a thought occurred to Rukia. Just what kind of dance place was this anyways? Surely this wasn't some kind of stripper bar…no, Orihime and Momo weren't into that kind of thing. That ruled that one out...but still left the question of what kind of place this really was. The more she began to think about it the more curious she became...

Rukia nearly leapt out of her seat in surprise!

"Wha-?! Oh…" She realized that it was only the bell…wow had time flied.

_Well I guess the only way I'll find out more is by going_ she thought to herself. Personally, she was starting to look forward to this.

_Maybe,_ she thought_ just maybe, this might be…fun._ With that thought still on her brain, she rushed to pack up her things and meet Orihime and Momo outside the door.

As she left the room, her head was bursting with questions. _What kind of place was this? What should I wear?_ And most importantly, _What the hell am I going to tell nii-sama?!_

--

"Finally" Ichigo groaned as the last bell's loud beep reverberated through the hallways of the now crowed Karakra High School.

_Heh, maybe I'll be able to have some peace and quiet when I get home._ Ichigo thought bitterly. Renji and Kiego hadn't let up on him since lunch, even though Renji had 'promised' to leave the topic alone. Why was this stupid dance place so important anyways? Stupid Renji and Kiego, always being perverse and dumb… Ichigo sighed as he trotted down the stairs and into the florescent-lit hallway. Many kids passed; a sea of faces…no one seemed to look up at him, or even notice his exceptionally orange hair these days. Not that he had a problem with that, in fact he was rather glad that people had stopped paying attention. He shrugged at the thought and found his maroon locker.

_6-17-0_ He typed in the combo, and tried not to think about what it stood for. The first two digits were that of…that day. Every time this came to mind, he became sullen and bitter. It was a date that would stick with Ichigo forever…one he didn't care to remember…ever.

Ichigo scowled, inwardly cursing and hating himself for remembering why he hated using his locker. Angrily he snatched his books from the top shelf of his locker, and stuffed them into his backpack forcefully. Ichigo slammed his locker door and caused it to shake slightly on its rusted hinges.

_Oups._ He thought sarcastically.

He whirled around on the heels of his feet and suddenly bumped into a very short, petite-looking girl, causing her to spiral backwards and her books to fly all over the floor.

_Damnit!_ He cursed inwardly again.

"Ah, er sorry." Ichigo scowled.

The short girl didn't say anything as she gathered herself and began picking up her books. Ichigo began to reach for one of the books when the cell phone in his pocket suddenly went off with a violent buzz.

"Eh?" He said, standing up quickly and pulling the small phone out of his tight blue jeans.

"Oh!" Realizing it was his Yuzu (his younger sister) who was calling, he flipped opened his phone; completely forgetting the short girl.

"Moshi, moshi" He said quickly.

"Ichi-nii? Is that you? Where are you Ichi-nii? I thought you were going to come and pick Karin and me up from the school…"

_Double damn._

"Ah, Yuzu I'm sorry! I forgot! I'm coming right now, I'll be there in a few minutes! Bye!" He said in a panicked voice and snapped the phone lid down.

With that Ichigo turned on his heels and started speed walking towards the door. He shoved his hand into his other pocket and produced a blue and red lanyard which had 'Bankai', his favorite band, stamped all over it. Jingling at the bottom were several key chains and his old car keys on it. He checked to make sure none of them had fallen off, like they usually did and kept walking.

Ichigo started to run down the hallway, and then suddenly remembering the girl, he spun around and stood in place.

"…She's…gone?" He surveyed the hallway for the petite girl. Ichigo hadn't even seen her leave. "Huh, guess I'm going to have to find her and apologize…" although he really hadn't gotten a good look at her face…or any other part of her. In fact, he couldn't even remember what she looked like. All he remembered was that she had a height problem.

"Naah!" He growled frustrated, running his fingers through his spiked, sunset-orange locks.

"Whatever, I'll probably never see her again anyways…" Then the phone in his hand buzzed again, reminding him that it was indeed time to go before the school parking lot got so crowded he couldn't leave.

With that, he again rounded on his heels and practically ran out the glass front doors of the school building.

_What an ass-hat!_ Rukia thought bitterly. _That jerk didn't even ask if I was ok! He didn't even HELP me!!_

Rukia sighed trying to regain her calm…but he was such a jerk! What's with the quality of people these days?? _Why did I even _want_ to come to this school? Everyone that goes here are jerks! I could have gone to a prestigious school with lots of high class, stuck-up snobby, money-loving, bastards…Oh right_. That's why she didn't go to that school…

Rukia grunted as she speed-walked down the hallway of the old high school. _Next time I see that tall freak I'll kick him…_

Rukia walked down the streets of Karakura town, on the fine autumn day. The trees were just starting to turn and the streets were filled with people wearing scarves and long sleeves. Rukia gazed around at the unfolding scene. Her backpack securely on her back, she decided to take an alternative route home, to give her more time to think about her current predicament.

_Nii-sama…what should I say to him?_

Rukia wondered to herself as she passed the endless crowd of people on Karakuara town's busy streets. Past the bakery, the elementary school, and even a family owned clinic; she walked and walked; her light shoes making a clicking sound on the cement.

Falls chipper scent was in the air, and people were covered head to toe in various garments Rukia observed. Some wore coats and hats, others scarf's and some, still refusing to believe the seasons had changed, wore nothing but a t-shirt and shorts.

Rukia chucked to herself, some people were so silly…

"I said sorry!" Ichigo said flustered as the door to the Kurosaki Clinic swung open.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHIGOOOO!!"

"Neh?" Ichigo looked into the house…

Just then Ichigo was round-kicked it the face by the family's 'loveable' father, Isshin Kurosaki.

Ichigo was sent flying into, and partway through, a wall.

Karin and Yuzu walked through the door like nothing happened. This was quite normal in there house.

"Ichi-nii" Yuzu protested to the fighting but to no avail. Karin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just let it go already, Yuzu. Let those idiots fight their way out of their problems." With that Karin took a seat at the kitchen table and turned her back on the fighting males.

"B-BASTERD!!" Ichigo screamed at his dad, getting to his feet, just managing to doge the next onslaught of attacks.

"OooH? Is that anyway to talk to your daddy, ICHIGO!! 3" Isshin began to attack his son with more ferocity then before.

"WOULD-YOU-CUT-THAT-OUT!!" Roared Ichigo grabbing Isshin's foot and throwing him to the ground.

"GEZ!! What is _with_ you guys lately!!" The teen growled and stormed off to his room.

"Ichigo!" His father called up to him, "If you're only going to wear a t-shirt in this weather, then at least bring home some nice girls!!"

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!!"

Isshin just smiled; this was Ichigo after all, someday he'd bring home a nice, sensible girl…and then maybe he could have some grandbabies! The thought of that made him gitty, and he ran over and hugged the giant picture of his deceased wife, which hung in the living room.

"Yep Masaki, my dear; Someday Ichigo will become a man…"

With that the grown man straightened up and went to go sit on his favorite couch.

Rukia rounded a corner, and there sitting in the cool autumn sun, was the giant Kuchiki mansion.

_Maybe I should have walked a little slower…_ Rukia thought, now seeing the large house and starting to get the feeling impending doom.

Just then Rukia heard a car pull up behind here and a window roll down-

"Kuchiki-sama! You didn't have to walk home! You know I would have been more then happy to drive you!" Said the tall blond butler sticking his head out of the drivers window. His hair was parted over one side of his face and he always seemed so sad...

"Kira-san!" Rukia said delightedly.

"Hello Kuchiki-sama." He said averting his eyes.

"Kira! How many times do I have to tell you, you can just call me Rukia if you want! Stop being so formal all the time!"

"As you wish, Kuchiki-san" He said still looking at the ground.

Rukia sighed, some things were just pointless.

"Well, could you, er, give me a ride up to the front doors?" Rukia said looking away. She knew that Kira loved his job and driving her around was truly a pleasure of his.

Kira's face lit up.

"I would be delighted Kuchiki-san!"

With that Rukia got into the black vehicle and started to drive up the long winding driveway to the Kuchiki estate.

OK! This is my first attempt at a Ichiruki fanfic!! Yes there is more, but I want to know if this is any good...PLEASE review!! :D You can be as mean as you want. It's all good. Thank you for reading!! It means so much...cries

Ichigo: . . .


	2. Chapter 2: The meeting

Isshin poked his head in Ichigo's room

Isshin poked his head in Ichigo's room.

"Oh Ichigo I heard you were late today son! Were you picking up some girls?" Said the ever perverse Isshin.

Not getting response from Ichigo, Isshin decided to provoke him more.

"How could you be late to pick up your precious siste-"

A shoe connected with his face.

"LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE OLD MAN!!" Ichigo roared at Isshin from his bed.

"Gezz, what do you have to do to get some peace and quiet around here?" Ichigo wondered aloud. With his dad safely out of his room, Ichigo was free to finish his homework and practice playing his guitar.

The large double doors to the Kuchiki mansion creaked open, letting everyone in a mile radius know that Rukia Kuchiki was, indeed, home.

_I really need to talk to nii-sama about this damned door…_ thought Rukia seconds before she was bombarded by maids.

"Kuchiki-sama!" "Kuchiki-sama!" "Kuchiki-sama!" The words rang through the front entryway of the mansion. Rukia had long since given up waving off the persistent maids and only responded when asked a direct question.

"Kuchiki-sama! Can I get you something to eat?"

"No thank you."

"Kuchiki-Sama, shall I bring your bag upstairs?"

"It's quite alright, I can handle it."

"Kuchiki-sama! Shall I get a bath ready?"

_GAH! THE QUESTIONS ARE ENDLESS!!_

"Kuchiki-chan!!"

Rukia looked up from the floor, where she had been staring to avoid eye contact with the ever determined servants.

"Ah! Soi-fong!" Rukia said surprised.

"Kuchiki-chan! Would you like me to 'escort you up stairs'?"

Rukia chucked at the inside joke between her and her closest family-like relative.

"That would be delightful, if you wouldn't mind."

"Anything for Rukia-chan." Soifong smiled.

With that the two girls quickly ran up the long winding staircase, both relived to get away from the sea of maids and endless questions.

Rukia entered her big double-door bedroom wondering to herself. What was she going to tell Byakuya-nii-sama?

All of this started with her adoption into the Kuchiki family. Her sister, Hisana, had meet Byakuya-san and had gotten married soon after. Before Byakuya, Rukia and Hisana had lived a very…unpleasant life.

Both their parents had died when Rukia was very little, and the two sisters had gone from one relative to another, being constantly thrown around. With each new 'toss of the troublesome kids' to a new relative, a deeper scar grew on Rukia's heart. She remembered herself wondering:

_Why does no one want us Hisana?_

Hisana had looked very sad when she turned to Rukia.

_It's not that no one wants us Rukia; it's just that we are too hard to care for…_

Then one day, they ran away from it all. That was it; they were out on the street.

Rukia shuddered, remembering the long cold months that they cared for each other with no one else… the way Hisana had to …sell herself to various men…just to get by and survive. Rukia was only nine… '_You're to young, and you have to remain pure, unlike me_.' Hisana had told her one time.

Rukia remembered how Hisana's health had declined dramatically during the months outside. She was so sick, sometimes she couldn't even move…

Then magically, one rainy day in October, he had appeared in front of Hisana. Byakuya Kuchiki happened upon Hisana and Rukia that day, and finding the state Hisana was in, decided that "such natural beauty mustn't be wasted on that of a prostitute" brought her to the Kuchiki estate. She always called him her angel, and that's how it was. It was obvious how much they loved each other, and it was obvious that no matter how much the Kuchiki family protested, Byakuya would do anything for Hisana.

Rukia sighed and looked at the ceiling of her enormous bedroom. Just then, she heard a knock on her large double doors, and a voice came through.

"Rukia-san," Came the small voice of Hanatarou, one of her favorite and most adorable servants.

"Kuchiki-sama requests to see you in his office immediately…"

_Oh shit._

"Thank you Hanatarou," Said Rukia getting off of her bed, and started walking towards her closet. "Please tell him I will be there promptly."

"Very well, Rukia-san!" came Hanatarou's voice from behind the door.

_Well here goes nothing._ Thought Rukia as she inhaled and pushed through the enormous oak doors of her "brother's" study.

The room was large and well lit; books lined every inch of the wall and large lamps stood in almost every corner. The shelves were stocked with every size and kind of book: Reference, business, economics, art, history, and even gardening (those were Hisana's). Rukia never failed to be impressed by the large collection of books that stretched the around the walls, but her attention was immediately averted from them by the sound of a very agitated "Rukia."

The voice pierced her soul and heart; it sounded cold and civil.

"Good afternoon, Byakuya-nii-sama." She said with a bow.

"Rukia, have a seat." Byakuya gestured at a tall seat in front of his large oak desk, where he sat behind it in a grand chair. His hands were interlaced and were on the laid across the top of the desk, his eyes hard and penetrating.

Rukia swallowed. Byakuya-nii-sama always looked so…intimidating.

She walked slowly, the way she was taught, over to the chair and gracefully sat down the way a noble was supposed to.

"You summoned me, Nii-sama?" Rukia said politely.

"Yes," He said in a deep voice. "Rukia, I've called you here mainly to make sure school is going alright."

"…" Rukia was slightly confused.  
"Are you sure that you wouldn't like to transfer to a noble school…?"

"Thank you Nii-sama, but I'm very happy where I am now." Rukia said bowing her head. "I've made a lot of friends and I learn a lot in school. I have top grades in all my classes and I accel in all of my courses."

Rukia was sure that this meeting was more of Hisana's idea then Byakuya's. Her sister was always worried about her well being…

"Very well, Rukia. You happiness is important to me, as well as you academic performance, but I can see that you indeed do not wish to change schools. That is all I wished to discuss with you. You may leave now."

"Ah, Nii-sama!" Rukia said without thinking.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the sudden interruption, and Rukia quickly caught herself.

"Excuse my interruption, Nii-sama. I just wished to discuss some social business with you before we conclude our meeting." She looked him square in the eyes, so that he knew she was serious.

"Yes Rukia?"

Deep inhale.

"Byakuya-nii-sama, I would like to attend the dance at the opening dance studio this Saturday." Rukia said quickly. She had decided that it was best to just ask Nii-sama instead of making up some kind of excuse.

There was a long strained silence that engulfed the entire room. The minutes seemed to take extra long and each tick of the clock seemed to echo throughout the estate.

"Rukia," Said Byakuya finially, "you know how I feel about that kind of social gathering…"

Rukia looked down at her shoes.

_Maybe I should have lied…_

"However,"

Rukia's head snapped up.

"I know how Hisana would feel if I restricted your social activities any more, so I will allow you to go this Saturday, under the condition that you be escorted by one of my body guards. That is all."

Rukia was shocked to say the least. Her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, was actually permitting her, Rukia Kuchiki to go to a social gathering?!

Not forgetting her manors, Rukia quickly recovered from her sudden shock and bowed,

"Domo Arigato gozaimos!" She slowly got up, and walked out of the room, down the hallway and into her own room before she allowed her emotions to show.

_YES!!_ Her mental self shouted. _I can't believe that I can go!! This is going to be sooo much fun!! I can't wait! I've never been to a 'dance' so this should prove interesting!_ And with that she pulled out her homework books, though she was to excited to really work at it. So she set it aside and instead took out her sketch book and began to draw.

Outside the sun was beginning to set, causing long shadows to form across the famous courtyard to the elegant mansion.

The suns first rays began to peek over the sleepy town of Karakura. They moved along the street and washed into the room of a particular orange haired boy.

Ichigo was sleeping soundly, exhausted from another late night of lyric writing. The usually agitated teen looked so peaceful sleeping like that that it was almost tragic when his large, flamboyant and goat-bearded alarm-clock burst through his door screaming his name.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHIGOOOOO!!"

_Oh god, here it comes…_

"IT IS TIME TO ARISE FROM YOUR SLUMBER MY SON!! 3"

"Get-out-of-MY-ROOM!!" Ichigo yelled.

Downstairs Karin and Yazu were awake, and Yazu was already working on breakfast.

"Sounds like Ichi-nii is up." Said Karin sarcastically.

Ichigo came rushing down the stairs an instant later

Rukia nuzzled her warm soft pillow. Somewhere, far off, there was an annoying buzzing sound trying to tear her from her current sanctuary in her warm cozy bed. The sound grew louder, and louder and no matter how much she tried to wave it off or ignore it, it wouldn't go away.

"Rukia-san…"

_Nooo, I don't want to…_

"Rukia-san. It's time get up and out of ….."

_Mmm, I'd rather not…_

"Rukia-san!"

Her world began to shake.

"Uhhmmmann" Rukia mumbled.

"Rukia-san, I'm sorry to wake you, but you're going to be late to school!" Came Hanatarou's worried voice.

_Mmmm…school?...SCHOOL!!_

"OH SHIT!!" Said Rukia suddenly sitting up vertically, surprising Hanatrou.

With that, the rich teen raced into her enormous walk-in closet and picked out her pristine, pre-ironed school uniform.

It was bad enough to be late for breakfast, and what's worse facing the wrath of a glaring nii-sama, but then having to miss the bus on top of that?!

_Could this day GET much worse?!_ Thought Rukia riding in the passenger seat of her brothers 2009 black Lotus car.

People stared at the tinted windows as they drove by on the early morning streets of Karakura. For once, Rukia was glad the windows were tinted; otherwise she would get more then her fair share of attention.

As the car rolled up to the school gates Rukia began to wish that her brother didn't insist on her being driven in the most expensive car he owned. Many of her fellow classmates had stopped whatever they were doing and started gawking at the shiny black car in awe. Most of them had never even heard of this kind of car let alone seen the new 2009 model. Rukia started turning pink when the car stopped across the street from the front entry way to the Karakura High school.

Deep breath. _Focus. You can do this without everyone thinking you're a complete-_

"Kuchiki-sama?" Kira's voice cut through her concentration.

"We're here now. Would you like me to escort you to the front of the school?"

"Ah, no thank you, Kira-san. I'll be fine from here. Thank you again for driving me this morning." Rukia said turning to look at him one last time before she was 'fed to the wolves'.

"My pleasure as always, Kuchiki-sama." Said Kira.

Rukia reached in and grabbed her Chappy backpack, which was heavy due to her course load and attempted to sling it over her back as she watched Kira drive away. Rukia turned toward the school and began to cross the street quickly without looking. She was determined to get into the school building as fast as she could, and maybe that way no one would know that she was the one that drove up in the shiny new car.

Just then, she saw something come speeding at her out of her peripheral vision.

A screeching of tires was heard, and all was still.

Ichigo had been late that morning, and to make matters worse he had been parked in and couldn't find his dad's keys.

"Gaaah!" Ichigo growled mostly to himself. The angry teen ruffled his blazing spiked hair and continued to pace about the house waiting for his dad to get out of the shower.

The rest of the morning hadn't been much better. He had been racing against the clock all morning getting stuck behind traffic lights and a very nice looking car, which could only belong to one of the noble families in Karakura.

He had been speeding into the parking lot of the school when, out of nowhere, a small figure suddenly was in the middle of the road!

Ichigo slammed on the breaks to his car, leaving a trail of skid marks across the long pavement.

Ichigo sat behind the wheel of his car stunned. _What the hell just happened?!_

"HEY!! WATCH IT YOU ASSHOLE!!" Came a shrieking voice from out in front of his car.

Ichigo jumped; his heart leapt into his throat.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" The petite girl slammed her fists on the hood of his car!

Ichigo recovered from his shock; no one hit his car! He had paid for it with his own money! He'd be damned before he let some girl wreck it!

"I'm drive'n obviously!! And what were _you_ doing shorty?! Not looking that's for sure!" He spat at the girl through his open driver side window. Unfortunately, this wasn't a girl he should have chose to pick a fight with.

"Wha-what?!" She said enraged.

"I said, you should watch where you're going midget!" Ichigo growled.

Then the short girl did something he didn't expect. She walked around to the drivers side window and stared him square in the eyes. If looks could kill, Ichigo felt he would be long dead by now. Her piercing violet eyes bore into him, and probably were causing damage to his retinas.

"_What_ did you call me?" She said coldly.

"Which? Shorty or midget?" He smirked watching her reaction turn steadily darker.

Suddenly a hand came through the window and grabbed his shirt collar and dragged it so Ichigo's upper torso was almost out of the car!

_Holy Hell this girl is strong!_

He was now eye level with the strange girl.

"I swear, if you ever call me that again I'll-"

Both teens tore away from each other for a single second distracted.

_What was…_

"OH SHIT!! SCHOOL!!" They cried in unison both forgetting about the incident that had just occurred

Without warning, the strange, short girl let go of Ichigo's collar and ran towards the school building, while Ichigo recovered from the second heart attack he had received that morning, grumbled and attempted to find a parking spot. He was going to be a few minutes late to class…

Both teens were now more concerned about getting to class, reasonably late and trying to come up with a liable excuse for their tardy-ness.

"Kurosaki! You're late!" Cried Ichigo's teacher, throwing a whiteboard eraser at his head as he entered the class room.

"Sorry Sensei, I, er, had car troubles this morning."

"Oh, well, that's ok then. As long as you didn't run anyone over."

The class stared at their sensei. Sometimes she could be so weird…

_Wow, that was…ironic? Oh, I wonder if that girl is ok…_ Then Ichigo remembered the conversation.

_….Oh yeah. Maybe I should have hit her harder…then at least I would be doing the world a favor by subtracting one less bitchy girl…_Ichigo thought to himself angrily.

Orihime wouldn't leave her alone.

"RUKIA-CHAN!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE HIT BY A CAR?!" Orihime gasped.

"Are you sure you're alright? You aren't hurt are you? Should we take you to the nurse? The hospital? Are you hungry?"

Rukia was now strongly regretting telling Orihime and Momo about the incident earlier that morning.

"Rukia-chan, are you sure you're alright?? You aren't too hurt are you? And to think you didn't even go to the nurse…" Momo said with a frightened voice.

"I told you two already, I'm fine!" Rukia said annoyed at her friends persistence.

"Well at least tell us who ran you over! I'll kick the snot outta em!" Said Shuhe Hisagi.

"Ah, that's alright, Hisagi-kun. I can do that myself." Said Rukia. "Arigato, for the offer though." She smiled.

"Teh, that jerk will get what's coming to him soon enough." Scowled Hisagi.

"So Rukia-chan, can you still go shopping with us right after school right?" Orihime said in more of a begging tone then an asking one.

Rukia sighed to herself.

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3: The Dance

I do not own Bleach, or any of it's charaters. They are all Tite Kubo's.

Ichigo hadn't told anyone about the incident in front of the school, although there was speculation going around.

"Hey did you hear there was an accident outside the front of the building?"

"Yeah, did someone get hurt?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Who was it, do you know?"

"Nah, but as long as no one was hurt, I guess it doesn't really matter…"

"I heard that it was a girl that got hit."

"WHAT?! What an irresponsible jerk!! If I ever find out who it was I'd-"

"Oy, Kiego, what's it to you anyways. Can't we just drop the subject?" Ichigo said cutting Kiego off. He was sick of listening to Renji and Kiego talk about pointless things. He glared at them, and turned back to his bento before he was disturbed again.

"Kurosaki-san."

The voice caused Ichigo to look up in surprise.

"Oh, hey Uryu. Ulquiora." He said nodding to them both. He wondered what they were doing here. Usually, they didn't want anything to do with him.

"I heard you were attending the opening night to the new dance studio." Uryu said casually.

"Yeah…" Ichigo was confused. Why did Uryu of all people care that he was going?

"I just thought you ought to know Kurosaki-san, Grimjow will be there too." Said Ulquiora without a second glance.

_GRIMJOW!!_ The name deepened the scowl on the teens face. That was an old enemy he'd rather forget. But that's interesting…now he HAD to show up! That jerk never could learn not to rub salt in old wounds…Ichigo would just have to go and show him a lesson he'd never forget. _That jerk has some nerve showing up here again…_

The school day passed quickly for Rukia, much more quickly then usual. The incident from this morning was no longer on her mind, due to the fact that she was now anticipating the impending doom of going shopping with Orihime and Momo.

The last bell of the day rang, and she began to pack up slowly.

Outside she saw Orihime and Momo already sitting in the blue little slug-bug that Momo owned. _Cute._ She thought sarcastically. _Oh well, Momo always did like that kind of thing…_

Rukia climbed into the back of the car and they slowly began to pull out of the school lot due to traffic. Rukia just stared out the window of the car without saying much. Then, she thought she spotted something familiar off across the parking lot.

_That car…THAT CAR!!_ _That's the one that nearly ran me over this morning!!_

Before she could get a better look, a car pulled in front of her window, blocking her view of the vehicle.

_Damn._ She though bitterly. _Ah, whatever. I should at least _try_ to enjoy myself anyways…_ and with that, she submitted to turning her head and glaring out the other window of the back seat.

The trio pulled into the mall and found a parking spot after about 15 minutes of searching. The entered the mall and, to Rukia's utter horror, went straight to the dress shop.

It was amazing. The assortment of dresses ranged from all sizes and shapes; some blue, others white and even a disgusting color Rukia hadn't seen before (and wished never to see again.)

Momo and Orihime were having the time of their lives flinging all kinds of dresses at Rukia. Some were long and elegant, others were short and simple, but none seemed to "completely complement you in every way" as Orihime had put it. After about an hour of trying on humiliating dresses, and going to about 10 different stores, Rukia, Momo and Orihime decided they should get something to eat before continuing the hunt for the perfect dress.

"Kuchzgi-zan" Orihime attempted to say with a mouth full of food, "woud deffindly wook bedder en a" she swallowed, "black dress!"

"Oh, I disagree Orihime-chan!" Momo cut it, "I think purple or blue would match her eyes better…"

The entierity of dinner was like this…Rukia sighed.

Then it was back to torture again. Orihime and Momo had already picked out their dresses and now were completely focused on finding 'just the right one' for Rukia. Honestly though, Rukia didn't feel that there was such thing as a perfect dress. That is until she saw it hanging up in back.

"Ano? What's this?" Rukia wondered aloud.

She picked out a black and blue dress from a hanger labeled OLD.

_Wow…this is actually kind of…pretty!_ Rukia's grin widened when she slowly walked over to Orihime and Momo and gauged their reactions.

"Hey Rukia, OH! What's that you've got there?" Orihime said quickly examining the dress. Before Rukia could even get a word in, Momo pushed her off towards the nearest dressing room ordering her to put it on immediately.

_I guess that means that this one's a keeper._ She thought smugly when she exited and saw half the store gawk at her. Boys passing the store even stopped to look in. Rukia's face flushed as she tried not to notice everyone and their grandmas' looking at her.

"Er, how do I look?"

"OH RUKIA-CHAN!!!" Squealed Orihime and Momo together.

"You look beautiful" "You're so stunning!" "So lucky" "You should defiantly get that dress" "It's amazing" "Wow, you're breath taking! I'm so jealous" "Rukia-chan"

Rukia was bombarded by to much babble. She could hardly tell where Orihime stopped talking and Momo started! She sighed, _Yep, this one's a keeper alright._ She quickly returned to the changing room and in a matter of minutes, came back out wearing her normal brand-less clothes; her skinny jeans, Chappy shirt and a short-sleeved hoodie. She walked up to the register and using her own debit card, bought her dress.

Her brother had not allowed Rukia free access to his money, which was a good thing in her mind. Unlimited access equaled greed in her opinion and she didn't want to become greedy or snobby just because her brother was wealthy. Therefore, she had come up with her own solution and had gotten a job two years ago at the local coffee shop not to far away from her school. Nii-sama hadn't liked the idea at first, but it was better then having a teenaged girl with an unlimited credit card, so he had accepted the proposal.

"Thank you, have a nice day." Said the sales clerk as she handed Rukia the bag that contained her new dress.

"Yes you too." Rukia said waving back to the clerk and walking out of the store with Momo and Orihime in toe.

"OoooOOOoooh! Rukia-chan! You're going to look so pretty tomorrow!!" Orihime giggled!

"…Thanks " Rukia went a little pink.

Ichigo stared at his bedroom ceiling. Today was Saturday, and he had already finished all of his homework for that weekend and now was anticipating the up coming dance.

_Let's see, Kiego said I needed to wear something nice, right? But just what does that encompass exactly?_ He wondered…

_Maybe a nice shirt and some slacks? That should do it right?_ He looked at the clock which read 5:57pm. _Great, I still have two hours to think about it_ he grumbled to himself.

_Still, I wonder what kind of place this is? They didn't really tell me…_

"ICHGO!!" Howled Isshin's voice from downstairs "OH SON~ WHY ARE YOU SITTING IN YOUR ROOM GLOWERING ALL DAY?? WHY NOT GO OUTSIDE AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUTH???!"

_Sigh…_

7:45pm

Rukia was fidgeting, and pacing around her large room.

_I know that Orihime said that she would come and pick me up at 8…but this is taking to long! I'm so nervous! I wonder if I look alright? And what am I going to do about my bodyguard? I can't have him shadowing me all night…_

She looked at her clock again. 7:46.

"AAAAARRRGGHH!!!" She growled. Why did time always have to pass so slowly??

---

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYY!! ICHIGOOO!!" The annoying goat faced man yelled up to his son. "KEIGO AND RENJI ARE HEEEEEEEERE TO SEEEE YOOUU!!" He yelled breaking down the door to Ichigo's room.

"THE HELL OLD MAN!!" Ichigo roared shoving his foot into his father's face.

"Buh Igigo," He said under his foot, "jor fhiends arh ere."

"Eh? Oh…" He said, quickly throwing on the clothes he set out to wear.

A few minutes later, the teen came running down the stairs to greet his friends.

"Naah, is _that_ what took you so long Ichigo?" The red-haired man retorted looking over Ichigo's choice of attire. It wasn't fancy, just a good shirt and pants. They wore similar outfits to his.

"Can it Renji." Said Ichigo already irritated by the tattooed buffoon.

NeeeEEEeeeeeeehhhhh, Iiiiiiiiiiichigoooooooo~" Kiego said flailing his arms in his usual fashion, " Let's stop the fighting for once and just get goinnnnng!! I wanna meet some bump'n babes tonight!!"

Issin's ears perked up.

_Oh hell no._

"Whaaaaaaaat??! Ichigoooooo!! You didn't tell me you were going to _THAT_ kind of place!!"

"Wha-I'M NOT!!!" Ichigo yelled going slightly red in the face.

"OH SON!! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!! YOU'RE FINALLY GOING TO BECOME A MAN~!!!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP OLD MAN!! I'M NOT GOING TO DO WHAT YOU THINK I AM!!"

With that, Ichigo stormed out of his house closely followed by Renji and Keigo.

It took them awhile to get to the downtown section of Karakura, and then to find parking on top of that made it a regular nightmare, but after about 30 minutes of intense searching, epic parking (Renji decided it would be more fun to park backwards at 60mph around two cars) and then the recovering from the near death experience (AKA Renji's parking) the handsome trio set out to the dance club.

Ichigo wondered what kind of place this would be. He saw numerous individuals walking by, most of them seemed to be around his age and all headed to the same spot. Then Renji and Kiego stopped and Ichigo looked up. His face turned blue.

---

_Could Nii-sama have picked weirder body guards than these two?!_ Rukia thought as she glanced back at the mismatched body guards. Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika walked behind her, earning her more then a few sidewise glances.

_Nii-sama said that there would be ONE body guard, not two!!_ Rukia glowered.

_I have to think of some way to ditch them if I can…I really can't have THESE two shadowing me all night!!...sigh, but I _did_ promise Nii-sama…_

"Rukia-chan!" Orihime said, seemingly unaffected by her body guards, "We're here!! Oh I can't wait!!" She squealed and ran inside.

"Teh, this may prove fun after all." Rukia said glancing up at the sign.

_Just what the hell did I sign up for?_

Ichigo's first thought was, as he stood staring at dance club where a bright, neon colored sign in front read:

THE SOUL SOCIETY

Where Solo Souls Can Find Each Other

"Come on Ichigo!!!" An annoying voice tore him away from his thoughts.

_Sigh, it's to late to turn back now, I suppose…_ Ichigo thought bitterly, as he followed his friends inside.

The sight that met his eyes astonished him to say the least.

The room, as far as he could see in, was huge! Sure they were standing line, but Ichigo was taller then most of the guys there. It was dark, but the lights were flashing, and there were people inside…a lot of people. Ichigo surveyed the line in front of him. He noticed that girls and boys were…separated?? The girls were immediately let in, while the boys were escorted to a different side room? _Strange…I wonder what's going on?_ Ichigo figured he'd find out soon enough.

The line slowly moved forward. Finally it was the trio's turn.

"Names please." Said the man in sunglasses.

"Uh, Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai Renji and Asano Kiego."

The man whose name tag read 'Iba' scribbled their names down before asking

"Your age?"  
"We're all 17" _Physically anyways…mentally these guys…_

More scribbling on the paper.

"Clothing sizes."

"…What?"

"Clothing sizes. We custom fit you to our attire."

"..oh, uh well.."

They each in turn gave the man their sizes. He finished writing the looked up.

"Is that all in your group?"

"Eh, yeah"

"Alright, then if you'll just step off to the left…" He said handing Ichigo, Renji and Kiego all small red slips of paper. As they walked through the doorway, Ichigo noticed that there was a sign above it that read "Hollows".

_Huh,_ He thought, _I'll have to ask about that later…_

They all three walked into a room with men of an age range of 15-26ish all holding different colored papers. Some were green, some red and others were pink and blue.

They waited for five minutes in the room, which was beginning to get stuffy. Ichigo noted that all of the people in the room were guys, and there weren't any girls…just what was going on here?

Just then the door behind him closed and the lights dimmed slightly with a brighter focus at the front of the room.

"Excuse me gentlemen!" Came a woman's voice. The room went quiet quickly as attention was drawn to the speaker.

"Hello all!" Said the cheery, and very…largely blessed woman. Ichigo found himself going slightly pink trying not to look at her large bossom.

"Thank you all for your patience! My name is Matsumoto Regestu! I'm the manager of this fine establishment! Now, before I turn all you handsome devils loose on the poor girls, you have to listen to a few rules I have, so we can make this party a fun place!" She winked and the whole room was focused on her.

"First, I'm going to have to ask you to behave yourselves out there with all the bright beautiful young women. I don't want any trouble on my dance floors.

Next I want you to bring the slip of paper you have up to me, and I will give you a mask according to the color of paper you have. The marks on your mask will correspond to the color of paper you have and how full the mask is."

Everyone in the room started to mummer. "Mask? I hadn't heard about that." "Huh? Why do we need one of those?" "What's going on??" "Why"

The woman named Matsumoto smiled. "It's kind of like a masacrade, but only the males get to wear masks. Just think of how appealing a mysterious young man is to a lonely female." Wow this woman knew how to play her cards.

"Of course, if there is anyone who doesn't want to participate…" She said in a sad tone, "then you're free to leave."

No one moved.

"Wonderful!!" She said clapping her hands together. "Now there are a few rules about the dance floor.

You must use a code name. Do not use a real name unless you are outside my studio.

Keep your mask on at all times, this is like a game. The more times you come and meet girls the more leniencies you will have with your identity.

No harassing please!

I will give you a colored mask and your job is to find a girl with the same color ribbon as your mask. What you do then is up to you.

Please change into these clothes I am about to give you. Wear them in whatever way pleases you, but please keep your pants on and NO STRIPPING!! Save it for later…

That's about it…OH no fighting either. And for heaven's sake keep it clean out there!

"Well that's about all I have to say. When you come up to me, tell me what your code name will be, and I'll write it on the back of your mask. That way, you'll have your own mask for whenever you come here if you ever want to come back!" She smiled.

"Now can I have all the purple carded people over here?"

A few minutes later, Ichigo's color was called as he lined up with the rest of the crowd.

"Ah, ok and you're…?"

"Eh, Kurosaki Ichigo..?"

"Oh ok!" She said handing him some clothes after she checked her list. "and here is your mask!"

The mask she handed him was…cool, not to mention a bit creepy. It resembled a human skull, with slanted eye holes and what looked like red cut marks along the right side of it.

"Your code name…?" Matsumoto said.

"…Zangestu." Said Ichigo staring down at the mask.

"Oooh! I like it!" She said quickly handing him a marker so he could write his name and nickname in it. "Alright then Zangetsu, your color is red so go try and find a girl with a red ribbon!"

Ichigo quickly put on his 'uniform' over his clothes. He watched as the others did the same.

Then the thought occurred to Ichigo.

"Um, excuse me ms. Matsumoto," He said walking back up to her. "but why was there a sign that said 'Hollows' out front?"

Her face lit up, apparently he was supposed to ask this question.

"Well it's really quite simple! A soul is 'Hollow' until another fills it with meaning!" She said with a wink. "Now get out there and find your partner!" She said giving him a little shove.

Ichigo stumbled through the door. It was hard to see with this mask over his face…

"OY Ich-ah I mean Zangetsu!"

"Neh? Oh hi, er…"

"Zabimaru." Renji said from behind his 'hollow' mask.

"Zabimaru, eh? Cool." Said Ichigo.

"Yeah, I like it too. So anyways, I'm off to find some babes. Good luck man!" He said clasping Ichigo on the shoulder.

"Oh, yeah thanks." Ichigo grumbled.

Rukia chuckled to herself. She had accomplished at least _one_ thing tonight; she had gotten rid of her pesky body guards. They had been separated from her at the beginning, and when they had demanded entrance, it only turned out badly. Rukia had instead compensated them, giving them money so they could go and buy sake and get a little wasted while she took care of herself. And it had worked! Rukia was beaming at her inner self for devising such a devilish plan…

Now she was inside the enormous studio, not sure what to expect… but there were so many people! Orihime and Momo had gone their separate ways too leaving Rukia all alone to sit in a corner. This really wasn't her kind of place at all.

In the beginning Rukia, Orihime and Momo had all been given a different colored ribbons, and they had decided to scatter, which Rukia now regretted, as she sat alone with a chair open next to her. She sighed to herself. _Maybe I should just go home…?_

Ichigo was getting tired of standing, so he made his way over to a corner of the large room. He had been searching for a girl half-heartedly, and didn't really feel like looking anymore. He grumbled to himself and sat down, leaning his back against the wall and closing his eyes.

So I take it this wasn't your idea either?" came a small voice. Ichigo's eyes opened in surprise. He looked down, and found himself looking at the top of a raven haired girl. _Damn these things are hard to see out of…_

"Yeah, you got me…" He said half-smiling under his mask.

He looked her over…She was small, and had a red scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face…so only her brilliant violet eyes peeked out.

Ichigo felt like he was stunned, staring at the vivid orbs.

_W-wow…_

"So," She said looking away and breaking her hold on him, "what brings you here?"

"Eh…my friends forced me into going…you?"

She smiled behind her scarf (he could tell because the folds moved a little).

"Same thing."

Ichigo noted that she had a red scarf…OH! He had a red mask…maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad after all…

"So…" he said trying to keep the conversation going, "What's your name?"

"Ah, well… Sode no Shirayuki" She said.

"..eh, What? You get a codename too??"  
She looked offended. "Yes, is there something wrong with that?" She said in a stern voice.

"N-no, I just didn't know…"

Rukia smirked at the boy…

"So then, what's _your_ 'name'?"

"Zangetsu." Said the masked boy.

"Oh." It was something about the name that caught her attention…that and the spiky orange hair that peeked out over his mask. Rukia had never seen anyone with hair like that…at least no one she remembered. His mask was slightly frightening, but the soft amber eyes behind it…

She caught herself, and shook off the last thought.

"So Zangetsu is it? How do you feel about dancing?" She said with a smile.

///////////////////////

Zenda: Helloz all!! I want to thank you sooooooooooooo very much for reading my story!!! Sorry for the late updates, I haven't had a ton of insparation (or time) lately... BUT none-the-less thank you again for reading!! I really enjoy it! And I love hearing from you! If you have any ideas (mostly cuz I'd love to hear some) or want character appearences I think it would be fun to hear your input! :D Again, I love you all (even though I don't know you) and am estatic that you would take the time to read an amature's story like my own! Please review if you want! I LOVE REVIEWS!!! (lol) Happy Turkey day! (even though it was yesterday...)

Rukia: . . .(she's weird..)

Ichigo: You just noticed T____T'


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